Gun Dog Forum

I have a two dc30 and a dc40...i am losing dogs at 350yds on all collars ...I get the ? mark by the collar name.
Did anyone ever have this trouble on here????... Going to order a new antenna ,hope this works...aftermarket???

The antenna is a good bet. I don't have any problems with mine well past that range.

Met up with my buddy....switch antennas...No go...Switch to his long range antenna that comes with the 320.... a little better.
Looks like its internally.... maybe reload software again...ERRR...I just sent this in for repair before hunting season :roll:

You prob already know but since they are line of sight, you can loose signal fast if the cover gets thick. Might need to go with a different tracker.

It worked better than this.....I always loses communication in and out, but i can can keep track....its like clock work now.345yds...then the ? #yds.
It seems the yards maybe right with the dog....Found this out with comparing with the 320...Just can't tell if the dog is pointing...dog pt.signals come back in 200yds.

I sent it back to get the power button fixed..I'm thinking this is a different unit.

I wonder what the wife wants for her b-day

I can have the same problem, sometimes the ? comes up, and I have trouble finding the dog...haven't tried anything to fix it, but interested to hear if the antenna works. Leaning toward having it updated/reloaded... if you get the problem fixed, I hope you post your result.

Losing signal at 350 yards is totally unacceptable. That is worse than useless. I can hear a beeper at 350 yards(or at least I used to be able to).

Something is wrong with your unit. Seriously

The last time my Garmin gave me the ?? was at a trial. I went on the other side of the hill and the Garmin locked back on. The distance was 1.2 miles. I wasn't real happy about not getting signal, but that distance is getting near the limit for the unit and there was a pretty significant hill in the way.

I would contact Garmin and get it straightened out. You need to be able to depend on the unit to function...and 350 yds. just ain't gettin' it.

RayG

We've used the unit sucessfully up to 3 miles in thick cover.. If I had to bet, your unit has a bad internal connection to the antenna on the astro. Since you've changed the external antenna's and also used different collars. Sounds like the handheld has an internal issue.

These units aren't perfect (the FCC prevents them from being perfect), but for most uses they are extraordinary pieces of technology, and will provide far more detailed feedback than a standard tracker.

In big country where the ground is open, and a dog can run miles out... I'd be torn between it and a regular tracker. Hunting, I'd likely use both.

Had a friend that his astro 220 was doing similar things. I took it and updated both the unit and collars online, and they were working like new.
Just a idea to try.